Rantakatu street 32, Leufstadius' House, Window in the door on the Rantakatu street side
Johan Leufstadius' shop sold "the best Virginia tobacco from Raahe." It also sold pikanelli, snuff, and cigars. Johan added a pleasant aroma to the snuff.
Captain and businessman Johan Leufstadius (1795–1867) had moved to Raahe from Öregrund. This was probably because Raahe was a bustling seafaring town. At one point, we had 60 whaling boats sailing on almost all the seas of the world.
Leufstadius settled down and married a local girl, Catharina Christina Hallberg. They were blessed with two sons and two daughters. The captain left his life at sea in the mid-19th century and became a tobacco manufacturer. Where did he get such an idea?
Leufstadius owned a large plot of land between Cortenkatu street and Rantakatu street, on which he built a couple of barns. He established a tobacco factory in the building on the Cortenkatu street side and received official privileges for it in 1848.
Leufstadius sourced Russian leaf tobacco as raw material for the factory. It was used to make chewing tobacco, snuff, and smoking tobacco for the people of Raahe.
The tobacco angels ran to grab a bite
The factory was not a very impressive facility. A large wooden table had been nailed to the back wall of the room, and a square table had been placed in front of it. And that's where the tobacco was twisted.
The factory's payroll sometimes included a dozen or so teenage boys, some of whom were barely in their teens. One of the boys twisted the wheel so that the tobacco rope was twisted into a roll. Another used a special tool to place tobacco leaves on the rolling machine, which three boys laid out on the table. One boy tore the stems off the leaves.
Next to the other table, someone rolled cigars, someone else chopped the stems into cartridges, and someone else ground snuff. The factory owner did nothing but wash the tobacco leaves and then paste them into his cheek or pipe, chewing them with his teeth to make sure the work was done accurately.
The working day began at five in the morning and ended around eight in the evening. At midday, there was a short lunch break for a couple of teams. The hems of the white work coats fluttered as the boys hurried home to eat. Because of this, people began to refer to the boys as cigarette angels. They earned five kopecks a day.
Chewing tobacco, snuff, and cigars
Leufstadius's factory produced all possible types of tobacco: chewing tobacco, cigars, pipe tobacco, and snuff. The labels were stamped with "the best Virginia tobacco." At the buyer's request, Leufstadius added a pleasant scent to the snuff. Some grandmothers were very fond of this.
The tobacco shop was located in a small building on the Rantakatu street side, where Leufstadius also had his household. Hanging from the ceiling of the shop was a huge cigarthat someone had once tried to buy.
"It's not for sale, it's a sign," Leufstadius said in his thick Swedish-influenced dialect. The house on the Rantakatu street side had a double door, the lower part of which remained closed when the upper part was opened. There was a bell for customers, which could be rung to summon the shopkeeper.
"Coming, coming," Leufstadius repeated as he came to open the door and spat on the street. Perhaps Leufstadius's cigarettes didn't taste very good.
"Here, try some of the best Havana tobacco," someone said, when a wealthy bourgeois had offered a guest some Raahe tobacco.
"What a fine variety, what a fine taste," said an acquaintance.
- It's good tobacco. Even Fellman's cartridge eats it, Leufstadius praised the product.
- Does it sting your tongue? a buyer once asked.
- No, it doesn't. Of course not! the merchant was horrified.
- Then it's not good tobacco if it doesn't sting, the tobacco buyer had mused.
- Yes. It does sting a little, Leufstadius replied immediately.
At the Kalajoki market
In addition to the shop, Leufstad's tobacco products were also sold at the Raahe market. Old sailor Sakari Aunola also transported tobacco to the markets in Kalajoki and Kuopio.
Sakari once had a bad experience at the Kalajoki market when some thief stole his entire load and he had to return empty-handed. When Leufstadius's wife complained about the incident, the manufacturer snapped:
"Don't cry! Just roll some more!"
The text is based on and quotes from Samuli Paulaharju's book Wanha Raahe (Old Raahe).
More information
Samuli Paulaharju: Wanha Raahe
Felix Onkka: Stories from Raahe and the surrounding area. Raahelainen Oy v. 1983
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